PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Some of the greatest performances by a Plattsburgh State women's basketball player in Memorial Hall have been turned in by senior Brittany Marshall and on Tuesday night she was able to put forth another.
Marshall amassed 16 of her game-high 25 points in the opening 20 minutes of action and racked up a game and season-high 10 assists as the Cardinals decimated Middlebury College by a 79-58 tally in Memorial Hall on Tuesday night.
It was third time in 2014-15 that Marshall, the reigning SUNYAC Player of the Week, has reached or surpassed the 20-point plateau in a game, and she led a Plattsburgh State team which forced 20 Middlebury turnovers and limited the Panthers to a 37.9-percent (25-for-66) night from the field.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals knocked down 46.3-percent (31-for-67) of their shots and out-rebounded the Panthers (7-4) 48-33 to move to 5-4 on the season.
It became clear right out of the gates that the Cardinals wanted to put the Panthers away and do it in a quick manner. Marshall and Jax Miller stepped beyond the arc and swished a long ball each in the first 49 seconds of the game to stake Plattsburgh State to a quick 6-0 lead.
Middlebury surged ahead for its only lead of the night when Rachel Crews struck for five points in a 7-0 run for the visitors over a two-minute span. Stephanie Linder, though, was there to make sure the Cardinals took over for good.
The junior out of Cadyville, N.Y., netted the next five points for the Cardinals on a deep two and a trifecta. The Panthers' last gasp came just seconds later when Elizabeth Knox scored four points over a pair of possessions to knot matters at 11-all with 13:33 to go in the opening stanza.
Kick-starting a 15-2 Plattsburgh State run over the next 6:31, Devona Paul took a sharp pass from fellow junior Allie Taylor and sank a layup before heading to the free throw line for another pair of points. Marshall added five consecutive points before Taylor took her turn at the helm of the offense, striking for another four. Linder finished off the run with a fast-break jumper to put the home team on top 26-13 with 7:02 remaining in the opening 20-minute period.
Middlebury was its own worst enemy during the Cardinals' run as the Panthers coughed up the rock seven times and went just 1-for-8 from the field. Sensing blood in the water, the Cardinals kept their foot on the gas pedal and continued to pound away at the Panthers.
Senior Yazmin Lewis hit an off-balance jumper on the near baseline before adding another short two-pointer in the painted area which pushed Plattsburgh State's lead to 32-17. Marshall went on to victimize the Panthers even further by burying an additional pair of triples in the final four minutes of the first half.
With just seven seconds remaining in the half, Misha Green accepted a crisp dish from Marshall and converted on a layup which gave her squad a 40-22 lead heading into the break.
The Cardinals were unrelenting in their pursuit of victory in the final 20 minutes. A 20-point cushion came about for the first time when Linder touched another fast-break score through the net. From that point on, the lead would dip below 20 for Plattsburgh State on just two occasions.
The largest lead for Plattsburgh State came when sophomore Shanielle Chambers found nothing but the bottom of the net from downtown, pushing the score to 76-50 with 3:45 remaining. It was the first field goal of any kind in Chambers' collegiate career.
In the last 20 minutes, the Cardinals scorched the nets by hitting 55.6-percent (15-for-27) of their field goals.
Linder and Paul added 12 points each for the Cardinals who have won three straight in Memorial Hall. Green grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
Four different players netted 11 points for the Panthers, led by Kaufman who added a team-best eight rebounds.
With their last non-conference game of the regular season in the books, Plattsburgh State will turn its attention back to SUNYAC play when it hits the road for a pair of tilts. Friday night will see the Cardinals travel all the way to Fredonia, N.Y., to tangle with Fredonia State at 7:30 p.m.
